Tesla Ordered to Pay Over $130 Million to Black Former Worker Over Racism: Report

Tesla earlier disclosed in its first US diversity report that Black employees make up just 4 percent of its American leadership roles.

By Reuters | Updated: 5 October 2021 13:09 IST

Tesla Ordered to Pay Over $130 Million to Black Former Worker Over Racism: Report

Tesla has been ordered by federal jury to pay more than $130 million (roughly Rs. 970 crores) in damages

Highlights

Presiding judge Orrick rejected efforts by Tesla to exclude one juror
Orrick believed attempt was based on race and purposefully discriminatory
Trial was heard at US District Court, Northern District of California

Tesla has been ordered by a federal jury to pay more than $130 million (roughly Rs. 970 crores) in damages to a Black former worker named Owen Diaz, finding he was subjected to a racially hostile work environment, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The jury determined that the company failed to take reasonable steps to prevent Diaz, a contract worker who worked as an elevator operator at Tesla's Fremont factory in 2015 and 2016, from being racially harassed, the newspaper added.

Tesla and its attorneys did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Diaz's lawyers also did not respond to a request for comment.

[Sponsored] Samsung Galaxy S24: The Ultimate Camera Phone With Smarter On-Device AI

Before the trial began, presiding judge William Orrick rejected efforts by Tesla to exclude one juror from the jury, saying he believed the attempt was based on race and "purposefully discriminatory."

Last year, the electric carmaker disclosed in its first US diversity report that Black employees make up just 4 percent of Tesla's American leadership roles and 10 percent of its total workforce in the country.

The trial was heard at the US District Court, Northern District of California.

Apple Loses Early Round in Discrimination Lawsuit Filed by Indian Engineer

© Thomson Reuters 2021

Amazon's month-long sale, the Great Indian Festival, is back. This week on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast, Amazon India's consumer electronics head Akshay Ahuja takes us behind the scenes. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.